I'm really looking forward to this week's This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, a special edition billed as A LOVE LETTER TO RADIO. It's a three-hour show devoted exclusively to records I remember hearing on the radio, records I heard on the radio before I heard them anywhere else. Given how important radio has been to me for the better part of my 58 years on your odd little planet, that gives me a vast and magical playground in which to cavort 'n' frolic.
I arbitrarily decided to exclude anything that was an oldie when I discovered it, to only play tracks that were relatively current songs when the radio introduced me to them. Sure, I regret not being able to play various irresistibles by The Easybeats, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Wilson Pickett, et al., but it was easy to live with (and within) that limitation. As my $2 a month paid patrons already know, I came up with a list of more than 200 qualifying songs to consider; from that expansive list of choices, I'll be able to play about 50 + tracks on Sunday.
Although neither Dana nor I generally plan much in advance for our regular weekly shows, A LOVE LETTER TO RADIO required specific tweaking. After working on it all of this week, I now have a tentative but complete playlist penciled in. No, I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to play. But I am going to tease you with this list, representing the year each playlist track was released and my best recollection of the radio station that introduced me to it:
A LOVE LETTER TO RADIO teaser playlist
1980 [CHUM-FM]
--
1964 [WNDR-AM]
2004 [WTKW-FM]
1970 [WOLF-AM]
1994 [WOFM-FM]
1984 [WBNY-FM]
1977 [WOUR-FM]
--
1977 [WBSU-AM]
1966 [WNDR-AM]
1970 [WNDR-AM]
1972 [WOLF-AM]
1984 [WBNY-FM]
1983 [WYSL-AM]
--
1977 [WOUR-FM]
1974 [WOLF-AM]
1977 [WOUR-FM]
1978 [WCMF-FM]
1981 [WGRQ-FM]
1978 [WBSU-AM]
--
1972 [WOLF-AM]
1973 [WOLF-AM]
1972 [WOLF-AM]
1976 [WOLF-AM]
1975 [WOLF-AM]
1970 [WOLF-AM]
--
1974? [WOLF-AM]
1979 [WCMF-FM]
1972 [WOLF-AM]
1979 [WAQX-FM]
1984 [WBNY-FM]
1969 [WNDR-AM]
--
1986 [unidentified Rochester or Finger Lakes area college station]
1973 [WOLF-AM]
1967 [WNDR-AM]
1972 [WOLF-AM]
1973 [WOLF-AM]
1984 [WBNY-FM]
--
1970 [WOLF-AM]
1973 [WOLF-AM]
1971 [WOLF-AM]
2009 [WTKW-FM]
1970 [WNDR-AM]
1982 [WUWU-FM]
--
1982 [WUWU-FM or WBNY-FM]
1980 [WGRQ-FM]
1976 [WOUR-FM]
1965 [WNDR-AM]
1979 [WAQX-FM]
1979 [WBSU-FM]
1976 [WOLF-AM]
1973 [WOLF-AM]
(I confess that some of those WNDRs may have been WOLFs, and vice versa. There might even have been a WFBL mixed in there somewhere.)
This reflects the last tweak as of Friday night. Might still tweak more before showtime, and may have to drop a track or two for time constraints during the show, but this is close to the final product.
As is, the playlist salutes AM and FM, Top 40, AOR, left-of-the-dial alternative, and free-form terrestrial radio. It includes hits and misses, rock, pop, power pop, soul, light bubblegum, light funk, British Invasion, Motown, glam, punk, new wave, hip hop, teen pop, one-hit wonders, Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers, and--intrepid TIRnRR listener Rich Firestone will be relieved to learn--The Kinks. One song per artist. There are no less than two tracks that have already been discussed in my blog series The Greatest Record Ever Made. It's A LOVE LETTER TO RADIO, and I hope you'll tune in Sunday night, April 8th, from 9 to Midnight. I've got the radio on.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse on The Spark WSPJ-LP 103.3 and 93.7, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/
Spark Syracuse is supported by listeners like you. Tax-deductible donations are welcome at http://sparksyracuse.org/support/
You can follow Carl's daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at
https://carlcafarelli.blogspot.com/
Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes, Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here.
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